Amazon has set off alarm bells in the markets by putting forward an investment plan of approximately $200.000 billion in Capex in 2026This is an unprecedented figure, even for one of the world's largest technology companies. The announcement comes at a delicate time, with investors much more demanding regarding returns on investment. big bets on artificial intelligence.
The movement occurs after presenting some Solid quarterly results but no major surpriseswith increases in revenue and profits, although slightly below what the market would have liked to see. This combination of strong planned spending and adjusted expectations has led to drops of more than 10% in the value of the stock in the after-hours market, reflecting Wall Street's change of mood towards the technology sector.
A Capex of 200.000 billion that breaks all the molds
The central element of the debate is the plan to capital expenditure of approximately $200.000 billion by 2026This figure represents a significant jump compared to the previous figure of around 131.000 billion disbursed in 2025 and it is well above the near 146.000 billion that analysts were using as a forecast, which implies an increase of more than a third over the consensus.
According to the company, this investment effort will be directed mostly to data centers and to reinforce the Amazon Web Services (AWS) infrastructureas well as projects related to artificial intelligence, specific chips, robotics and constellations of satellites in low Earth orbitThe underlying idea is clear: to position themselves at the top of the global race for AI and the cloud, even at the cost of assuming more pressure in the short term.
Andy Jassy, the company's CEO, has argued that this is an "extraordinarily unusual" opportunity for resize the weight of AWS and the group as a wholeThey insist they expect a “solid” return on capital in the long term. However, the message hasn't quite resonated with investors, who are watching the pace of investment slow. It grows faster than revenue..
In practice, this level of Capex puts Amazon in a sort of infrastructure arms race alongside other giants like Alphabet and Microsoft, all competing to build the network of data centers that will support the next generation of generative AI and cloud services.
Results: Revenues increased, but the market wanted more
The paradox is that the stock market downturn comes despite the company's financial statements showing growth. For the whole of 2025, Net income increased by about 12%, to about $716.900 billion, compared to 638.000 billion in the previous year. In the last quarter, revenue was around 213.390 million, slightly above consensus estimates.
Profit also advanced strongly: in the last twelve months, It earned nearly $77.700 billion, up 31%. than the previous year. In the fourth quarter, net profit stood at around 21.190 million, which represents a year-on-year growth of close to 6%, with a Diluted EPS of $1,95 per shareThe benchmark was very demanding: the market was expecting around $1,97, so the figure fell short of even the most optimistic forecasts.
By business area, the picture is heterogeneous. The segmentation of North America generated approximately $127.100 billion in revenue, with an advance of nearly 10%, while the block International trade was around 50.700 billionwith a double-digit increase in reported terms and also adjusted for currency. Overall, the company maintains a clearly global profile, with its operations outside the United States playing an increasingly important role.
Looking ahead to the first quarter of 2026, Amazon has announced that it expects revenues of between $173.500 and $178.500 billionThis would imply growth of between 11% and 15% compared to the same period last year. These are positive figures, but somewhat lower than what some analysts had anticipated, who expected a slightly more ambitious range.
AWS, cloud and advertising: the engines that finance the AI bet
If you look at the details, the company's true lifeblood remains Amazon Web ServicesIn the overall exercise, the cloud division It increased its revenue by about 20%, to about $128.700 billionIn the last quarter, the increase was even more notable: a 24% year-on-year increase to nearly 35.600 billion, the best growth rate in more than three years.
These figures have helped to partially dispel the feeling that AWS was losing traction against rivals such as Microsoft Azure and Google Cloudwhich have also shown very significant progress—around 39% and 48% growth, respectively, according to the latest figures. Even so, competition has intensified and Amazon's leadership in cloud infrastructure is no longer perceived as so indisputable. like a few years ago.
Another growing pillar is the advertising business. The company earned just over $21.300 billion in advertising in the last quarterIn line with market forecasts and with year-on-year growth of nearly 22%, this segment has become a strategic complement that improves margins and Take advantage of the huge user base of the e-commerce platform.
The less pleasant aspect comes from the cash flow side. In 2025, Amazon recorded a free cash flow of about $11.200 billionThis was less than a third of the approximately €38.200 billion of the previous year and clearly below analysts' consensus expectations. The company itself attributed this drop to a net increase of more than 50.000 billion in property and equipment purchases, largely associated with investments in AI and data centers.
A strategic shift accompanied by layoffs and project cuts
While the Capex is being fired, the group is carrying out a deep adjustment in other areas of the businessIn recent months, Amazon has announced the elimination of approximately 14.000 jobs and a further cut of another 16.000 jobs in its corporate structure, within a broader program of cost reduction and organizational simplification.
At the same time, the company has decided closing certain chains of physical stores, such as some convenience store formats with a high technological component, which allowed payment without going through a checkout. These closures reflect a change in approach: fewer experimental bets with dubious returns and greater concentration of resources on what they consider strategicsuch as the cloud, logistics, and artificial intelligence.
Jassy has summarized this transformation process by stating that they want Amazon to function as “the world’s largest startup”With more agile structures and less bureaucracy, despite its enormous size. This narrative aligns with the cuts in less profitable areas and the reallocation of capital towards projects with greater scalability potential.
In parallel, the company has had to deal with regulatory investigations in both the United States and Europe, especially in matters of competition and business practices, which adds an additional point of pressure on its strategic moves in the European region and, by extension, in Spain.
Wall Street's reaction: from enthusiasm for AI to demands for results
The stock's plunge following the record Capex announcement is a clear symptom that The honeymoon between artificial intelligence and the markets has cooled.For much of the past few years, simply promising large investments in AI was enough to send valuations soaring. Now, the attitude has shifted: investors They are asking for visibility on how and when these capital injections will translate into more revenue and more profit..
Amazon is not an isolated case. In recent days, other major US tech companies, such as Microsoft, Alphabet or MetaThey have also faced significant corrections after announcing very large spending plans for infrastructure and AI projects. The sector has gone, in a short time, from operating with a "blank check" to being subject to much stricter scrutiny.
In the specific case of Amazon, the problem that many analysts point out is the imbalance between Capex growth and the rate of revenue growthAlthough the company's sales are rising by double digits and AWS maintains robust performance, the magnitude of the investment effort is causing the Capex/Sales ratio to skyrocket, fueling the perception of greater risk.
Furthermore, there is a fear that The infrastructure built today may become obsolete in just a few years If AI chip technology evolves radically, it would add further uncertainty about the future profitability of these investments. Added to this are energy and environmental considerations, from electricity consumption to water usage in data centers, which are beginning to carry more weight in public opinion and among regulators, including in Europe.
The scenario that is emerging for Amazon in 2026 is that of a company that, supported by some growing revenues and a healthy cloud and advertising businessIt has opted to double down on its commitment to artificial intelligence with a Capex plan of close to $200.000 billion; a commitment that has generated doubts among investors due to the speed and size of the expenditure, but which, if it manages to translate into more market share, operational efficiency and new high-value services, could redefine both the future of the company and the balance of power in the global race for AI, with a direct impact on how digital and cloud services are provided to companies and users in Europe and Spain.
